Buyer's Guide

Peridot

Peridot is the bright olive green gem, sometimes called Olivine, found in many pieces of period jewellery, and is the birthstone for those born in August. Its name is probably derived from the Arabic word "faridet" (gem) and directly connected to its most historically important source on the island of Zabargad (St John) in the Red Sea where it had been mined for over 3,500 years.

In the Middle Ages the stone was brought to central Europe by the returning Crusaders and was often used for ecclesiastical purposes. It later became the most popular stone of the Baroque period, and later appeared in many pieces of Victorian jewellery.

The largest cut peridot weighs 319cts, mined from the original source on the island of St John, and is part of the collection in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. In Russia, there are some cut peridots which came from a meteorite that fell in eastern Siberia in 1749.